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Chapter 343: Chaos
Chapter 343: Chaos
Felix abruptly sat up, his alert magic outside the tent had been triggered.
After casting various defensive spells on himself, he pushed aside the curtain. In the darkness, he saw a mother staggering towards him, her hair disheveled and a dirty nightgown clinging to her. She was holding a child, who looked about three or four years old.
"What’s happening?" Felix asked in a deep voice. In the distance, screams and explosions echoed through the night.
"There’s a riot... those fans... no, they’re thugs! They’re setting fires everywhere..." the woman said, her face pale and still showing signs of shock.
Lupin emerged from the tent, wand at the ready. "What’s going on?" He paused when he saw the woman.
"It seems some fans have caused trouble", Felix said. "Remus, take care of them. Wake up Clemmy and Aric. I’m going to check it out."
Lupin glanced at the woman and her child, then nodded silently. He looked out into the distance, where the camp was ablaze with red flames. Cries and anxious shouts could be heard from afar.
Felix gripped his wand and hurried towards the flames.
On the way, he saw shadowy figures stumbling and limping, some carrying their families and a few crying children, all moving towards the forest for safety.
Most of them were caught off guard, wearing only nightgowns. Some had become separated from their families, calling out names as they walked.
Not everyone was in a panic; some remained calm, helping to maintain order. A tall woman with a powerful voice shouted over the cacophony, "Quiet! Beauxbatons students, raise your wands and light the way for everyone else."
"Yes, Madame Maxime", a group of young men and women responded in unison. They lit their wands, and the panicked crowd gravitated towards the light, clustering around them.
"Follow me, stick to the path", Madame Maxime led the way, occasionally turning back to reassure them with a steady voice, "Don’t panic, one by one, stay close!"
This woman was likely as tall as Hagrid, but she appeared even taller due to her slender and graceful build, unlike Hagrid’s bulk. Felix suspected she had giant ancestry, but she clearly inherited the best traits from both sides, with a refined face and elegant demeanor.
It was evident that she commanded great respect among the young wizards; she must be a professor.
In the rush, Felix didn’t have time to think further. As they passed each other, Felix moved against the flow, heading straight for the flames. Halfway there, he saw some Ministry of Magic staff lying on the ground, unconscious. Each had been hit by at least four or five Stunning Spells and a variety of other curses, looking quite disheveled.
Felix dragged them together to prevent them from being trampled. He then cast a Levitation Charm on himself, rising into the air and scanning the area.
On the other side, the procession of hooded wizards grew in number. Initially, there were only about thirty, masked and wandering through the camp. One of them had captured the Muggle Roberts family, making them spin in the air for amusement.
More and more people joined in, including fans venting their frustration over a lost match, revelers who had been drinking all night, and thrill-seekers. The crowd swelled to several hundred, setting fires throughout the camp and leaving burning tents in their wake.
Bathed in the towering flames, they saw a figure standing in mid-air, looking down with a menacing gaze.
The hooded wizards squinted. The figure seemed to be flying, with eyes that glowed terrifyingly bright. Even from hundreds of feet away, they could feel the anger and pressure in the figure’s gaze.
"M-Master—"
A hooded wizard called out, his hand trembling involuntarily.
Among the procession, the leading group of hooded wizards stirred. Two of them lost their grip on their wands and fell to their knees before Felix. "Master, we have always awaited your return—"
"Don’t be foolish, that’s Felix Hep!" a raspy voice said.
Felix moved. A massive amount of light gathered in his palm, then rapidly expanded. He hurled a huge ball of light into the sky, temporarily replacing the faint grayish-green dawn on the horizon.
The light was as bright as winter sunlight, not blinding but illuminating every inch of space and every shadow. It even overshadowed the moon hanging high in the sky, turning the entire camp as bright as day.
Felix took in the chaotic scene before him—
To his right was the parade, led by thirty to forty hooded and masked Wizards. They appeared to be the ringleaders of the disturbance, huddled closely together in a dense formation as they slowly advanced. Above their heads, four struggling figures floated in the air, twisted into grotesque shapes—ordinary people in their pajamas, helpless and manipulated like puppets by invisible strings.
Around the hooded figures, hundreds of rioting fans had gathered. From their attire, it was evident they came from different countries, united by a common interest or a love for chaos. These latecomers to the parade had more straightforward motives: to vent anger and create mayhem. Some wore absurd masks they had found somewhere, others had simply covered their faces with cloth, and a few brazenly showed their faces, drunk and waving their wands, releasing bursts of sparks.
Behind the parade—along the path they had taken—burning tents stood like giant torches, marking their trail.
The surrounding area was filled with fleeing people, the air thick with women's screams, children's cries, and men's frantic calls.
When Felix's magic illuminated the entire camp, the crowd was able to orient themselves, no longer wandering aimlessly. Families quickly moved away from the group of paraders.
From all corners of the camp, countless heads turned, their eyes fixed on Felix's figure in the sky, their hearts filled with shock.
On a small path by the forest—
"Look at that person! He's floating in the air!"
"Where's Madame Maxime? We can't find her—" a young girl with thick curly hair shouted to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The three had separated from the adults and had lost Ginny and the twins, only just reaching this small path by the forest.
The path was crowded with people, each one looking fearfully toward the camp.
"Who is Madame Maxime?" Harry asked nervously. He had just used his wand to stun a drunk man, and he, Ron, and Hermione had hidden the man in the bushes together.
"They're not from our school…" A young witch, about Hermione's age, wrapped her arm around the curly-haired girl, gave Harry and his friends a quick look in the bright light, and whispered, "Hogwarts", before joining the others in watching Felix in the sky.
"Who is he? Why can he fly?"
"Is he the leader? I saw some of the paraders kneeling to him—"
"Don't be ridiculous!" Hermione snapped at the person, her eyes filled with worry as she whispered, "It's Professor Hup. He must want to stop the riot. This is too dangerous; he shouldn't confront them directly… There are hundreds of them."
Harry looked over and saw clearly that Professor Hup's magic had illuminated the camp. A dozen colorful spells flew toward the professor, but most of them were wildly off target.
Ron reassured them, "Professor Hup is a few hundred feet away. Don't worry, they can't hit him."
…
Felix used Lumos to light up the camp, and some of the paraders immediately became uneasy—darkness had given them the courage to act, but now, with the light, they had to hide their nefarious deeds to avoid being caught.
One by one, people began to slip away from the group.
But a significant number remained, making noise and pointing at Felix, deliberately shooting sparks and spells to provoke him.
On the other side of the parade, Mr. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, and Sirius Black looked helpless. Charlie asked, "Dad, what should we do?"
Mr. Weasley glanced at the floating Roberts family. "We can't act rashly. We might hurt them."
They were troubled. Earlier, a few Ministry of Magic Aurors had tried to blend in with the paraders to get closer to the Roberts family but were quickly attacked.
"They'll disperse soon", Mr. Weasley said with certainty, though he sounded frustrated. "Rats in the sewers! These guys are completely lawless! If only we could catch them all—"
Sirius pointed to the sky. "Someone shares your thoughts."
Felix's face remained calm. He extended his hand and pointed forward. A bolt of black lightning descended, and almost simultaneously, a hooded Wizard's chest was pierced.
(End of Chapter)
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